Instant Replay: The Death of Sports As We Know

            Last night I watched one of the best games I have ever watched as a sports fan. The box score was less than desirable for most casual watchers, but not to true fans. Did I witness a touchdown? Nope. But I did watch two team beat the hell out of each other for four quarters of defensive based football. However, it seemed that on cue every third play was brutally interrupted with fourty five seconds of referee huddles and reviews. This evening, after a long day at work I sit down to watch an NFL battle that could briefly be described as blood vs. guts. And again, seven and a half hours later I am falling asleep to the half time show (slight exaggeration about the time frame but barely). How have we gotten to the point where sixty minutes on the clock stretches FOUR HOURS?? At this point calling it ridiculous doesn't seem to due justice. Calling it a normal growth to the modernization of the game does though. Rewriting the rules to make sure that every scoring play is reviewed, re-reviewed and sent to a jury of my peers is just unnecessary. Maybe, and this is a huge maybe, if they got the play calling right every time after three minutes of deliberation, you could justify stopping the game constantly. I myself am a fan of the human error factor. Striving for perfection will lead to sensors on the sidelines and red lights on the end zones (sorry NHL, but it is a little odd). There are many a flaws with major league baseball, but the one issue they stand firm on is instant replay. Umpires aren't afraid to call a strike or a double play because they are the authority, 'nuff said. In football the scrutiny is so swollen that missing a call, or incorrectly calling a play mean you aren't voted to ref in a playoff game, or viewed as a sham. The referees are just as good at their jobs as the athletes they officiate, so why do we put next to no faith in them? The rules are what they are (I think they are soft and getting even softer) but interpreting said rules lies in the discretion of the men and women we put on the field, and that's where it should stay. Give the refs their field, and give me my game back.

The Sad, Sad Sad Numbers of the NBA Lockout

            In previous articles I have smeared Derek Fisher as an over the hill, under efficient player not capable of representing the players union. And until today, I stood by that statement fully. Okay, honestly I still stick by the first half of that statement, but maybe he is better for the players and I originally thought. Plus, when the other option is Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher looks like the next coming of Jimmy Hoffa. Here are the top ten reasons Billy Hunter will be fired as soon as (if not before) the NBA shuts this season down. Reason # 10.... He has put the players in a position reminiscent of an innocent prisoner staring up at a sadomasochist guard. Reasons #9-#1....Despite him pissing away ALL leverage the players may have had, all Mr.Hunter seems to be concerned with is self preservation. How terribly ironic, a man with thousands of greedy millionaires futures at stake is only concerned with his cut. Alright in all honesty I do not know what irony really means, it just sounds fancy.

          When I did some quick mental math on some of the labor disagreements, it blew my mind to discover how small of numbers they were actually fighting about (considering the million dollar contracts they own already). If the NBA were to split their revenue with the player at a 52% rate that would be roughly 5,700  dollars a game, per player, PER GAME. If my math is incorrect, check me on it but here is my numbers. A 4.1 billion dollar revenue divided by 30 teams, divided by 15 players per team, divided by 82 games a season would equal upwards of 57 hundred per game. It is sickening, I know. But here is the kicker my friends. The difference between 52 percent and 51 percent is around one hundred dollars per game, or roughly the price it costs per person to go to an NBA game. When it is broken down to a per game basis, it is ridiculous to think that these boys would not be willing to play for maybe two hundred dollars less, per game! Oh, just for the record, this is not contingent on their salary....this is revenue sharing. I wish the Clippers would hold open tryouts tomorrow because not only could I make the scab team with my no experience, but I would gladly take a quarter of the revenue sharing alone.

          I HATE what the NBA is doing right now, but I am appalled with the numbers. Maybe more appalling however is my lockout, the NBA fan lockout. No longer will I watch the NBA. I am taking a stand as a human being who works 60+ hours a week for peanuts. Until they publicly apologize to the fans for being arrogant asses that deserve to have to schlep boxes and answer phones, the NCAA has my full attention, and not just in March. And because of my inherent math skills due to not being a part of the NBAPU, losing me as a fan means there are only about 34 left. Good luck Billy Hunter/Derek Fisher/David Stern/Memphis/Charlotte/Sacramento/Utah/where does this back slash end?.